VNA PM: improve product quality to boost salesPrime Minister Phan Van Khai has all enterprises to focus on improving the quality of their goods to boost sales at home and abroad. The Prime Minister also wants a more concerted effort to expand cost-effective production establishments, particularly those using agricultural produce and raw materials from Vietnam. This will make Vietnamese goods more competitive, he says. Mr Khai, who was visiting a high-quality commodities fair and exhibition that opened in Hanoi on March 30, told business representatives that the government would revise investment and tax policies so business could become more flexible and produce more and much better quality goods. The 500-booth fair has drawn 180 businesses, including 81 winners of the title 'Vietnam's High-quality Products for the last five years in succession. Similar fairs are scheduled for Ho Chi Minh City, central Da Nang and the Mekong delta's Can Tho from now to May. (VNA) **** Cadres must keep close touch with people: Party official Politburo member Pham The Duyet, president of the Presidium of the Vietnam Fatherland Front, visited ethnic minority people in Dak Lak Central Highlands province on March 30-31 and April 1. He listened to opinions of the villagers of M¹thal hamlet, Ea Roc village, Ea Sup border district. Village chief Y Loai, on behalf of the locals said: In the past, M¹thal people were very poor. There was not enough rice to eat and enough clothes to wear. But now, the lives are being improved. The elders asked the government to invest more in irrigation works so that the people can expand wet rice cultivated areas and to pay more attention to educational and cultural development. Visiting Ea Sup township in Ea Sup district, Mr Duyet had a meeting with the local authorities, E De and Gia Rai ethnic chiefs and the people of villages. The chiefs of Sup A, Sup B and Sup C villages expressed thanks to the government for the attention extended to the ethnic minority people. The villages¹ chiefs also expressed their sadness over the recent incident in Dak Lak. They said that some young people, due to poor knowledge, were incited by bad elements to cause the turmoil. The ethnic people considered these actions as ungrateful to the government and against the fine tradition of the ethnic minority people. A young person who followed the trouble-makers, took the floor to express his remorse over his actions. At Sup B village, the elders presented Mr Duyet a brocade shirt of the E De people and recognised him as a village elder. The elders also gave a �commitment¹ gong to Mr Duyet, promising to be loyal forever to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, absolutely following the Party, promoting the national unity to protect and build the homeland. They also pledged to educate the young generation to follow the Party and Uncle Ho¹s instructions. Those who violate commitment will be punished under the village¹s regulations. At Ea Bar village in Buon Don district, Mr Duyet listened to the opinions of the village¹s elders, ethnic minority people. The elders and women expressed their deep regret over the fact that many young people in the village aped other bad people to cause the troubles and admitted their wrongdoing, asking the pardon from the government. They also pointed out weaknesses of the local authorities for not keeping close contact with the locals; their instructions were not close to the reality and they did not understand the situation of the local people¹s lives. Mr Pham The Duyet reminded the cadres of keeping close touch with the people, listening to the people¹s opinions so as to map out appropriate plans. He also urged the provincial authorities, in parallel with promoting the socio-economic development in rural and ethnic minority people areas, to attach importance to personnel training, especially those who are ethnic minority people. **** Economic growth rate accelerates Vietnam has achieved 7.2% economic growth rate in the first quarter of the year, according to figures released by the General Department of Statistics (GDS). GDS figures suggested gross domestic products in the first quarter of the year was estimated at about 7.2% over the same period last year, much higher than the 5.6% recorded in the same period of 2000. This is thanks to the growth of the industry and construction sectors from 7.4% to 9.9% and the service sector from 4.6% to 6.1%. The agriculture, forestry and fisheries also have an increase of 3.8%. Total industrial production in the first quarter is estimated at about 14.4% over the same period last year and the highest in recent years. The State-owned sector achieved an increase of 10.4% while the growth for the foreign invested sector was 17.5% and the figure for the non- State sector was 17%. **** Prize winners at ASEAN Vocational Skill Contest awarded Deputy Prime Minister Pham Gia Khiem has presented Certificates of Commendation to five prize winners at the third ASEAN Vocational Skill Contest held in Bangkok from March 16-18. They include Pham Thanh Le who has won a gold medal in restaurant service; Nguyen Van Lai who has bagged a silver in artistic carpentry and Dinh Xuan Thang, Dao Cong Duc and Tran Cong Tinh who have won bronzes in civil electricity; electric welding and artistic carpentry. Also in the award presentation ceremony, which was held in Hanoi on March 31 by the Ministry of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs, these prize winners received Certificates of Commendation and Medals of Creative Labour from the Vietnam Labour Confederation and Medals of Creative Youth from the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union Central Committee. The Ho Chi Minh Youth Union Central Committee also awarded certificates of commendation to six other people who won consolation prizes at the ASEAN Vocational Skill Contest. The Ministry of Labour, War Invalid and Social Affairs gave certificates of commendation to a collective and nine cadres who instructed these prize winners. They were also given awards from the General Department of Vocational Training. **** Youth Union gives gifts to disaster-hit victims The Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union Central Committee has presented ten packages of gifts, each worth VND 500,000, to families which were struck by the recent whirlwind in Quang Tri central province. The acting first secretary of the Youth Union Central Committee, Hoang Binh Quan, who led a delegation to Quang Tri province on March 31, handed over the gifts. The whirlwind, which hit Quang Tri province in late month, caused heavy losses to families in Ai Tu town, the resettlement site in Trieu Phong district and Hai Lang district. **** Vietnam attends Asia-Latin America foreign ministers' conferenceVietnam attended the first conference of Foreign Ministers from East Asia-Latin America Co-operation Forum (FALAE) member countries in Santiago, Chile, on March 29 and 30. Vietnam delegation leader, Deputy Foreign Minister Nguyen Van Nganh, praised Singapore Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong's initiative in setting up the forum. He said it would help promote co-operation between the two regions particularly in economy, commerce and investment based on the principle of willingness, consensus, respect for each other's independence and sovereignty and non interference in the internal affairs of member countries. He affirmed that Vietnam, in its current capacity as Chairman of the Association of the Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) would work to further promote effective co-operation between countries and organisations in the two regions so as to facilitate the development of both as well as peace and stability in the world. (VNA) **** Associations merged to raise fisheries developmentThe Aqua-culture and the Fisheries Associations were merged as the Vietnam Fisheries Association at a congress held in Hanoi on March 31. Prime Minister Phan Van Khai and representatives from Denmark, Norway and others attended. The congress reviewed the activities of the two associations and development of the fisheries sector over the past 10 years. It focused on measures to implement the tasks set for fisheries industry between now and 2005. Fisheries was Vietnam's third biggest foreign-currency earner in 2000 after oil and gas, and textile and garments. The congress elected a new executive for the association with Vu Dinh Lieu, president of the former Aquaculture Association, as president; and Deputy Fisheries Minister Nguyen Viet Thang as permanent deputy president. Prime Minister Khai told the meeting that the believed the merged association would help boost fisheries development. He outlined the major advantages of the sector and praised its contribution to the national economy. The Prime Minister emphasised that the Fisheries Ministry and the Fisheries Association must co-operate closely to remove obstacles and solve outstanding problems in production and business. He asked the ministry and association also to co-operate with localities, relevant departments and authorities to devise plans for restructure, infrastructure, species selection, technology transfer and feed production, thus upgrading the quality of and marketing aquatic products in order to ensure the stable development of the sector and minimise adverse impacts of natural calamities on production. (VNA) _________________________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. Box 66 00841 Helsinki Phone +358-40-7177941 Fax +358-9-7591081 http://www.kominf.pp.fi General class struggle news: [EMAIL PROTECTED] subscribe mails to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Geopolitical news: [EMAIL PROTECTED] subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] __________________________________________________
